We are a society immersed in social media. It’s how we communicate. It’s how we spend our time. It’s how we determine our value. Getting a lot of likes on a post seems like the new way society determines someone's popularity and likeability. Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but social media does rule a large portion of our time! It’s only getting easier to keep scrolling with more attuned algorithms, and if you’re a business owner or an influencer, being successful on social media matters.
Being successful on social media can be measured by a lot of different things. Maybe it’s the number of followers you have. Maybe it’s your engagement rates. There could even be other metrics depending on which platform you choose. It could also depend on if you’re using social media for personal or professional reasons.
Regardless, if you’re looking to supercharge your social media platforms this year, here are a few things to help you get started:
Produce Valuable Content
For businesses and influencers alike, it is important to have content that followers wish they could have themselves. Creating that desire within them will help keep their loyalty, and if you’re looking to boost follower numbers, take the time to research and target the right audience for your niche. For example, if you want to speak to travelers, posting photos or videos of you adventuring will definitely be the kind of content that that kind of audience is seeking out. If you’re a business looking for new clients or customers, showing them what services you provide or case studies that will make them think, “I want to do that for myself.” In fact, 83 percent of Instagram users utilize the platform to discover new products and services. There are millions of people on social media, and in order to have them choose your account without paying for marketing advertisements, you have to bring valuable content to their feed.
Be Cross-Channeled
There are so many platforms to choose from, and knowing where your next customers are can be tricky to find out. To supercharge your social media, share the love across all platforms by recycling content. You can pull your audience from one platform to another by sharing new content and having your site links easily available. You don’t want to limit your exposure to just those exclusively on Instagram when there’s a whole bunch of potential followers on Twitter, Facebook, or TikTok. Some demographics may gravitate towards specific platforms, so take that into consideration when intentionally sharing photos and videos across sites.
Use A Call To Action
Consumers hear tons of calls to actions every day. You hear them on commercials like, “call now,” or “tune in on Thursday night,” or “go to our website.” You see them on billboards, signs, marketing materials, everything! So getting someone to adhere to yours on social media can be challenging. The number one call to action on social media is, “follow me!” Whether on a podcast, in an interview, or on social posts, always tell people where they can follow you. Make sure to be consistent in your call to action across all platforms. This lets people know you are personable, appreciative and welcoming of the new follow. You can use other calls to actions such as, “comment your thoughts below” or “subscribe to my channel,” or “share with your friends” – whichever best fits your profile; just be consistent. If you’re spreading information about social movements or philanthropic efforts, share linktrees or create external links in your bio for interested parties to follow.
Know The Trends
Right now, short-form vertical video is the dominating format (this is likely due to TikTok’s quick rise to the top and people’s preference for short, audio-captioned snippets). YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and SnapChat also added support for this form of content. Posting Reels or repurposing TikTok content can help keep your account active in the algorithm. Trends change daily, so keeping up with them can be exhausting. Hashtags rise and fall in popularity every day. Sometimes video with text on it is the way to go. Sometimes it’s the audio you use on the video. You never know what it’s going to be. Staying up to date with current trends will help you stay relevant to your audience.
Make It Engaging
My colleague and co-founder of Otter PR, Jay Feldman, said it best. “The types of content that tend to generate the highest and most consistent rates of engagement are the ones that get your community– your followers, customers, and potential consumers– talking.” Followers want to interact with you and your page, and there are a handful of tools available to make this happen. Anything from polls, quizzes, comments, live videos, shares, reels, you name it, all can make your profile more engaging. Understandably, social media can be hard to manage. It can be time-consuming, especially if it isn’t your full-time job. Creating content, posting it, engaging with the followers– all of it– can take hours every day.
Most of the 4.62 million people who use social media use it for leisure, fun, and to connect with people, celebrities, and news. Using social media as a means for business success takes on a different attitude. There is an art to crafting a successful social media page. Knowing the necessary steps to supercharge your social media will set you apart from the rest.
WRITTEN BY
Scott Bartnick